I've been a Vonage subscriber since early 2003 and I'm now considering activating a second account in order to utilize the WiFi UTStarcom F1000. I am going to port my mobile number over from Cingular as I seldom use my mobile phone. I have access to my primary Vonage line for the majority of the time. When I'm overseas, I always use prepaid SIMs in the country I am in. Is this a good idea? I travel quite frequently and having my friends, family, and clients be able to reach me on one # worldwide seems very cool - although I am not exactly sure how prevalent wireless access points are in the countries I am visiting. Hong Kong should not be a problem… Cebu has a Wi-Fi hotspot at one of the clubs I frequent… Mainland China, not too sure… I know I won’t be connected all the time while I’m traveling but that won’t be an issue as I’ll have local cell phone service in the respective country.

In the majority of hotels I stay in, Internet access is available in room but it is not wireless. I am able to use ICS and my Wi-Fi controller so that my sibling can use the internet on his laptop (wirelessly) as well; essentially making my computer an access point. (I believe this type of setup would be ad-hoc, right?) The secondary laptop would connect to the Network on my machine and essentially piggyback off my connection. Would a similar setup work with the Wi-Fi enabled handset? Connecting my unit to the network via Ethernet and then having my machine act as an access point?

- Would I get inferior service/call clarity if I use the Wi-Fi handset instead of a traditional hard-wire setup with an adaptor? The answer seems like an obvious yes but I’d like to hear what the rest of you think, or if anyone has experiences using this handset. Is the service comparable to a traditional setup? I am using a Cisco ATA 186 connect directly to in-house wiring and the call clarity is impeccable.

- Would I be able to use a purchase a different Wi-Fi handset outright through a 3rd party and configure it for Vonage? Other models on the market seem far more attractive in terms of overall looks and feature set.

- Does the service vary depending how far the handset is from the access point?

Any additional information, comments, suggestions would be appreciated. –

I use both the UTStarcom F1000 and F3000 in environment that you describe and it works pretty well. For hotels in China - most of which seem to have wired internet in the room,m but not WiFi - I carry a Netgear WGR101 travel access point. This converts the hotel's ethernet to WiFi - which makes my PC easier to use (no short cord troubles) and lets the phone work as well. Voice quality on the phone is pretty good.

As far as accounts go - if you want a Vonage "main account", then the F1000 is your only choice. If you were looking at the $15 account, you would probably be better off getting a $10 soft phone account and using it with an unlocked phone from Voip Supply or someplace else. That would let you use Vonage but the $5/month difference in cost would pay back for the "Vonage discount" on the phone itself.

You can use Internet Connection Sharing via your laptop in many places - check for that in the forum. You need somehting involved to give you an extra IP address. That can be something attached to your PC or, in some cases, the hotel will hand out more addresses.

As far as accounts go - as a primary account, the locked F1000 is your only option for WiFi phone. Anything would work with a soft phone account (anything EXCEPT the Vonage locked version of the F1000).

Is Vonage any closer to opening up SIP credentials? Last post I read in regards to this was in the middle of July and as of then, most agreed that it wasn't a question of if - but when?

It would be any to use any device desired without being forced to opt for a Softphone account... seen some nice Wi-Fi SIP and even some dual mode - GSM/Wi-Fi phones out of Asia and they look far more attractive than what Vonage is offering.

I would say not likely. If so, then there would be no reason at all to launch the VPhone since all that really does for you is give you a physical soft phone where you can't see the credentials. If they were going to give out credentials, why have a VPhone?

i would not suggest using a laptop as a wireless access point//the processor speed may not be able to handle it properly, this could cuase latency and delay and audio issues, I would drag around the extra equipment if i were you